Category Archives: Week 10

Today is July 4th, and J and I thought we’d try to take our first born to the lake to do a little bit of swimming. Being a true city pup, Henry has never been near large bodies of water for us to know whether or not he knows how to swim. Before you say, “But of course all dogs can swim!” – you would not make that assumption if you knew our dog. For the two years since Henry has joined our family, he has never once demonstrated any proficiency at any doggy activity. He can’t find his treats unless we put them right under his nose (bad sense of smell), sometimes he runs into the walls of our apartment (terrible eye sight), both J and I can out run him (slow runner), the pigeons on the sidewalk all know when he’s coming (zero hunting skills), he doesn’t bark at all unless it’s the pizza delivery man (not a guard dog), he can’t catch a tennis ball in his mouth to save his life (not an athlete), and he looks at flying frisbees with bafflement (Um, what do you want me to do with that?).

So given all the evidence, J and I were not very hopeful that our metrosexual dog could, much less be interested in, swimming. But since it was so hot today and we had already rented a car for the week, we thought we’d give it a shot. Plus, I love hiking.

We drove up to a dog friendly park in New Jersey and hiked an hour to the lake. As expected, Henry sniffed around the edge of the lake and showed no inclination for getting in, even when dogs all around him were happily fetching balls and sticks from the water. J, not one to give up easily, finally decided to pick up our dog and wade in with him in tow. Pic below. (Note the Labrador Retriever in the background swimming with a stick in his mouth while our dog needed to be carried and escorted out by his father).

As I watched J wade out while murmuring words of encouragement to our wimpy dog, I thought to myself: Is that what we will be doing with Baby Z in a few years?

The thought brought sentimental tears to my eyes. (What, I told you I cry easily these days).

Anyway, about four feet out into the lake, J gingerly lowered Henry into the water and we held our breath….

And Henry swam!! Our baby can swim! Granted, he swam a total distance of maybe 3 feet and it was back to the shore, but he did it!

We couldn’t have been more proud. Congratulations Henners! Daddy and I are so proud of you. We can’t wait until you can teach your new little brother or little sister how to “doggy paddle”. Har har.

Our next ultrasound is not until July 23 (ironically or not-so-ironically, it’s also my birthday) – and I’m already driving myself a little crazy counting down the minutes until I can see Baby Z’s heartbeat again.

After some digging on the internet, I think I’m going to give in to my paranoia and rent a baby doppler monitor. For people who don’t know what that is (because I sure as hell didn’t before embarking on this pregnancy ride), a fetal doppler monitor is basically a small device that works like an ultrasound. It detects your baby’s heartbeat and turns it into a sound that you can hear. But these monitors are pretty expensive to purchase, and obviously, you’re not going to be pregnant all the time so you don’t need to keep one around forever. So lots of people opt to rent these machines for a one, two, or a few months so that you can monitor your baby’s heartbeat from the comfort of your own home/bed/couch. (The peeps who came up with this idea are GENIUSES)

I think I’m going to rent a very basic one for a couple of months, or until I can start feeling Baby Z doing somersaults in my belly. Because I’m tired of looking at my oh-so-very-slightly-rounded-belly and wondering whether or not I’m having a child or just had one too many burritos at Chipotle.

I know I was just bragging about the fact that I have not experienced any morning sickness or nausea so far in my pregnancy, but as usual, I spoke too soon. On my way to the airport two days ago, I almost barfed all over the backseat of my taxi. Almost. It was the longest 40 minute cab ride of my life. I barely had time to throw a few bills at the driver before running for the airport bathroom. I almost made it to the toilet.

Almost.

I spent the next hour at the airport nursing a can of overpriced Ginger Ale and hiding from the airport bathroom cleaning ladies (I’m sorry!). Thank goodness, my stomach settled a bit before I had to check into the flight, or else I’m pretty sure airport security would’ve sent me packing back home.

Was it morning sickness or motion sickness that set off my barf alarm? Is it possible to only get occasional morning sickness?

You already are mommy and daddy’s lucky charm, because we got upgraded to a Presidential Suite at the Ritz Carlton! We have our own huge private veranda overlooking the Caribbean sea, and our hotel room is bigger than our entire apartment in New York City.